Posted
by
samzenpuson Wednesday September 11, 2013 @07:50PM
from the thanks-for-the-tip dept.

coondoggie writes "Some of the travel recommendations posted on the Transportation Security Administration's blog seem stupefying obvious. This week's, entitled: 'Leave Your Grenades at Home' seemed like a no brainer, but alas. The TSA wrote about grenades in particular: Year to date, the agency's officers have discovered: 43 grenades in carry-on baggage and 40 grenades in checked baggage."

I carried on a mock EFP on a flight to L.A. The TSA didn't even open the bag. I was kind of appalled, because there was a lot of sharp steel in it even though there was no explosive. But then on my return trip they took my tiny little drill bits, because drill bits are forbidden.

Another time I tried to carry on a big knife by accident, but they found it. I would guess most of the confiscated guns are like that. Sam Kinison even had a routine about this.

I think its all bullshit, especially the millimeter wave stuff, its just a big money making scheme for L3 and their corrupt government patrons. If someone wanted to kill a bunch of people at an airport, the best place would be the queue at the security check. If I had my way we would fly unmolested and accept the risk. Locking the cockpit doors solves most of the problem, and most of the rest of it solved by having a population with some sense of honor, willing to fight back instead of just cowering and waiting to die. My wishful thinking isn't going to change the culture though.

Actually, no.Leaded glass does not have enough lead to make that much of a difference to xrays of the strength used to scan luggage.Its not the same high lead content glass you find in radiation shielding items.

Further, nobody wastes leaded glass on perfume bottles any more, which is why all of theold ones are becoming such collector's items.

Finally, anything you put in or on your body would/should not be stored in leaded glass.You might drink wine or bourbon from a leaded glass, but you should never store it [wikipedia.org] in such.

More people died that day 12 years ago in car crashes than have died in all terrorist attacks within the USA *ever*. The TSA has killed more people than the terrorists did by making flying less pleasant so people take the far less-safe option of driving (actually, the break-even point for deaths from the Sep 11 attacks vs. deaths from TSA asshattery was passed over seven years ago).

I'm not saying it shouldn't be prosecuted or anything like that, but you (and well-meaning idiots like you, along with plenty of less-well-meaning people out to make a buck or grab some power) have blown the whole thing massively out of proprotion. How many people have died as a *direct* result of the US's response to those terrorist attacks, huh? Hell, how many of just US citizens? How many billions of dollars of military materiel? How many government expenditures on things like increased survellance and provably-ineffective airport scanners (strap a knife to your side; they can't see it)?

Let's assume that those $100 billion were all *directly* attributable to the terrorists (and not to, for example, re-routing planes all across the continent, shutting down airports, etc.). Wow, that sounds like a lot of money! Now, let's look at the damage to the US economy from the 2008 sub-prime mortgage collapse. The terrorists are all dead, and we spent a fuckton more money to go hunt down everybody connected to them. How about those bankers, though?

You go mourn your few thousand. Those of us who try to not let logic override our sense will fight the bigger threats to society, such as people who massively overreact to terrorism and do more damage to the country than the terrorists themselves could ever have dreamed of causing. Please stay the fuck out of our way.

As a professional paranoid*, I must ask whether you also had a permanent black marker in your possession, or could have had an accomplice carry one for you.

A few minutes in the bathroom completing a hasty art project makes a passable prop, and some convincing theatrics will make the passengers swear you had a full-size semi-automatic pistol aimed right at their head. Ask for anything, and you can probably get it.

The danger the TSA is looking for isn't what you have, but rather what you can do. Unfortunately, people can do anything [xkcd.com], including lying about what they can do with what they have, and ultimately that lets unscrupulous people do whatever they want.

* I work in IT, with a focus on security. I have a well-honed sense of paranoia.

Cleric: "And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once at the number three, being the third number to be reached, then, lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it."

On topic, I'd like to see a phone app along somewhat similar lines to ride-sharing and flight-booking combined, only with private charter flight services, to coordinate people traveling to/from the same or near-enough locations to share costs and save money and time, not to mention one's civil rights.

The more popular it becomes the more flight volume for the charter services in frequency and flights seated to capacity, and therefor charter services whose aircraft are in the air with full seats earning money steadily and reliably have the ability to negotiate larger bulk fuel contracts, tires, engines and other parts, etc etc at lower costs. All those lower average costs plus competition will tend to lower passenger fees.

Heh, instead of a "flash-mob", one could have a "flash-flight", minus the groping! Groups of otherwise unrelated individuals from random backgrounds suddenly booking a charter flight together as a group might throw some wrenches into TLA surveillance/data algorithms.

You could choose the flight that irradiates, strip-searches, and cavity-searches all passengers, or choose an "open-carry" flight, smoking, non-smoking...whatever.

Wouldn't it be nice, since this is supposed to be the "land of the free" and all, to have a choice!?!?